Do as your trainer SAID. Get what you want out of your workouts by understanding the SAID principle.

There is ALOT of information floating out there about health and fitness. From the anecdotal how-to from the big gym dude, to the high drama on reality TV shows like the Biggest Loser, there is certainly not of shortage of supposed wisdom on health and fitness. This is not necessarily a bad thing. This information can be motivating and inspiring.

It can also be potentially harmful, both physiologically and in your ability to achieve a fitness goal. In this article, we won’t go into the just plain bad workout information that is everywhere, we will look instead at focusing your attention on the information that will help you realize success for all of your fitness effort.

Enter the SAID principle. The acronym stands for specific adaptations to imposed demands. This sounds bookish and not user or exerciser friendly. So, broken down:

SPECIFIC: What specifically are you trying to achieve with your exercise program. You will have much greater, faster success if you know what you are trying to do, exactly.

ADAPTATIONS: This is what you are hoping for when embarking on an exercise routine. An adaptation is a change your body. Most people who exercise are looking for change.

IMPOSED DEMANDS: This is your program. This is the sum of all the stimulus you physically impose on your body. Cardio, diet, supplementation, and resistance training.

So, the idea here is that a particular exercise regimine must be put together in a certain way to quickly achieve a specific goal. Otherwise, you could be waisting your time, or worse, hurting yourself.

The dilemma is, if you talk to ten different people on the street or in the gym about what they are trying to gain out of their exercise routine, you are likely to hear a wide variety of answers, from people with a wide variation in age, fitness level, etc.

So, there is no “cookie cutter” routine to fitness. What one person does to acheive their goal may be the EXACT opposite from what you need to be doing to achieve yours. Your body will react in a way consistent to the stimulus you give it. If you train like an Olympic powerlifter, your body will adapt accordingly, and you will be able to powerfully lift heavy resistance. That’s good if that is your intention. If not, you need to re-formulate your exercise regimine. This includes your diet, your aerobic training, and your resistance training. Everything must be SPECIFICALLY designed to achieve a CERTAIN goal.

Don’t waste your time emulating everything you see unless you know for sure what you are trying to accomplish is in line with what you are actually doing.